I'm not sure if this thread is still active but I'm looking for some J-drama recommendations.

My wife and I have watched and loved:

Kekkon Dekinai Otoko
Freeter ie o Kau
Rich Man, Poor Woman
7 Days of Daddy and Daughter
Osen
Zenkai Girl
Late Blooming Sunflower

= absolute faves

We tried and really disliked:

Densha Otoku (really vulgar comments about women, creepy)
No Con Kid (same)

We tried and couldn't get into:

Woman (super heavy)
Operation Love (solid pilot but felt trite quickly with the coffee milk focus in ep. 2)
Young People/All About My Siblings 2014 (kind of over the top characters, couldn't get into it)

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So, I would immensely appreciate some recommendations. As you can see, I really love somewhat serious but not super heavy shows with a good dose of romance. Food doesn't hurt, certainly, I love seeing preparations of Japanese food. I like funny, compelling characters who seem like real people (like Kuwano-san in Kekkon Dekinai Otoko) but am easily grated by characters mugging for the camera (like Tsurumi in Operation Love.)

Any feedback or advice on what to watch would be massively appreciated! Thanks for reading this.

^Welcome to the forums!

Being totally biased, I'd highly recommend Nodame Cantabile.

That said, there's also Muri na Renai, Kuitan and Kuitan 2, and the two (going on three) Doctor X series.

BTW, if you need me to seed any of those torrents over at D-Addicts, just let me know.

I agree with the Nodame Cantabile rec - it's a must-watch!

Other good rom-coms include:
Love Shuffle - http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Love_Shuffle
Love Revolution - http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Love_Revolution
Hotaru no Hikari - http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Hotaru_no_Hikari (has 2 seasons)
Long Vacation - http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Long_Vacation

If you like Abe Hiroshi, check out:
Shinzanmono - http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Shinzanmono
Hero - http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Hero

Another gem:
Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi - http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Shikaotoko_Aoniyoshi
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A couple Abe Hiroshi drama's:

"Dekichatta Kekkon": http://www.jdorama.com/drama.567.htm
(although Yutaka Takenouchi is the real star)

and

"At Home Dad": http://www.jdorama.com/drama.815.htm

For romance:

"Omiai Kekkon": http://www.jdorama.com/drama.815.htm

An underrated kind of slice-of-life drama:

"Ruri no Shima": http://jdorama.com/drama.951.htm

Another romance would be "Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi": http://www.jdorama.com/drama.1716.htm

It has a sequel just as good: http://www.jdorama.com/drama.1949.htm

Here's the trick though. The previous two posts recommended "Nodame Cantabile". Of all the dramas I've seen (over 400) there are probably less than five that I thought were so bad I couldn't finish them. "Nodame" is on that list. But then again, I really liked "Woman".

hi everyone... I've ran out of stuffs to watch... can anyone recommend some dramas for me?

I've watched and enjoy:

Liar Game, Priceless, Hanzawa Naoki, Salaryman Kintaro, Okane ga nai, Shopping Hero, Shinzanmono, My Boss my Hero, moteki, kodoku no gurume, legal high, ando loyd, rich man poor woman, Bara no nai Hanaya, the quiz show, satorare, trick, akimahende... (there are more... but these are all on top of my head lol)

my favourite genres are:

- dark psychology human sides (something like liar game, the quiz show)
- food pron (kodoku no gurume)
- lame guy become hero (moteki, densha otoko, shopping hero)
- from nothing to successful guy (okane ga nai, salaryman kintarou, priceless)
- smart and deceitful (Hanzawa Naoki, Legal High)
- light romance comedy (my boss my hero, satorare, rich man poor woman)
- detective (shinzanmono, trick)
- family heartwarming (bara no nai hanaya, akimahende)

I've tried and can't finish:
Bloody monday, Maou, kami no shizuku, bartender, real clothes, tetsu no hone, magma... and some others...

Did you take a look at the recommendations several posts earlier?

Can anyone recommend some series that have lots of funny, witty dialogue? Something like Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi, Saikou no Rikon, and Legal High. Thanks!

Yopp wrote:

Can anyone recommend some series that have lots of funny, witty dialogue? Something like Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi, Saikou no Rikon, and Legal High. Thanks!

Love Shuffle
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Yopp wrote:

Can anyone recommend some series that have lots of funny, witty dialogue? Something like Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi, Saikou no Rikon, and Legal High. Thanks!

Hotaru ni Hikari!
Artificial Beauty
Nodame Cantabile

Thanks for the suggestions! I will check out Love Shuffle, Artificial Beauty, and Hotaru no Hikari.

Nodame was actually one of my very first jdoramas, but I found it jarring. I love it as an anime, which is why I watched the dorama version in the first place, but I found it too cartoon-ish to work with real actors.

Yopp wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions! I will check out Love Shuffle, Artificial Beauty, and Hotaru no Hikari. Nodame was actually one of my very first jdoramas, but I found it jarring. I love it as an anime, which is why I watched the dorama version in the first place, but I found it too cartoon-ish to work with real actors.

Heh, I'm the opposite. I love the Nodame drama, but found the anime rather cold and flat. Maybe you could consider giving the drama another go?

Anyhow, hope you enjoy Love Shuffle and Hotaru
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I watched the Nodame drama through to the end, and there were things that I enjoyed a lot. It was nostalgic to watch and listen as they practiced and developed a piece or worked through some musical theory. Not something you get to see very often, musicians honing their craft. Unfortunately, although I enjoyed that part of the show, I struggled to get into it as a drama. I just found the characters too unrealistic, even though I liked the manga and anime versions which were pretty much identical. Kind of an inexplicable, maybe irrational, reaction, but it is what it is.

Thank you all for those recommendations! (I'm the poster from the top of this page.) I really appreciate it. We ended up watching Orange Days which was amazing. I can't recommend that one strongly enough. We then took the Love Shuffle recommendation. It took some time to get into but it ended up being really great. (Yay, panda!!) The show just had a lot of fascinating characters and twists and turns, and some compelling romantic plots.

Anyway, we've since tried a couple we couldn't really get into. We watched 2-3 episodes of Amachan, which are 15 minutes each, and just didn't find it compelling enough for the moment. With 156 episodes it just seemed like a big time investment to keep trying yet. Oh, prior to Orange Days we tried Konkatsu! and it was alright but it didn't draw us in much so we left that one for now, too. *After* Amachan we gave My Boss, My Hero maybe one and a half episodes or so. It was okay, but kind of over the top for us, and I don't think the HS-set dramas we've tried have worked well for us as of yet (I'm thinking of Operation Love and this one).

We just started Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi and watched the first ep. So far it seems more in line with what we're looking for in a show. It's grabbing us a bit more than Amachan or MBMH did, so hopefully it only gets better as it goes on. I have found these shows, at least the ones we've gotten into, really generally improve dramatically as they continue. Anyway, I'd love more recommendations if possible, but I will keep working through the list above. In fact, here's the list I'm working through at moment if there are any thoughts. Thanks again to you all!

king's restaurant 1995
my little chef (abe)
tiger and dragon (fashion, yakuza comedy)
attention please (airline drama) (skip?)
karazu Cat's Eye (crime caper comdy w/ cancer?)
love generation 1997, advertisement, maybe
pride - romance, ice hockey, v sweet (maybe more dramatic)
good luck (airline drama w/ romance)
nodame cantabile (music)
Tatta no Hitotsu Koi romatncic, maybe more drama)
flower shop w/o roses (touching (romantic?) drama?)
Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo cute hs comedy
Ando Natsu (confection drama could be good)
Muri na Renai (age differnece romcom)
Yamada Taro Monogatari (poverty hs drama)
Love revolution (surgeon romcom)
Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi (deer man drama w/ Love Sha star)
artifical beauty (sad love story w/ plastic surgery)
Hotaru no Hikari (interior designer romcom/drama)
Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi (female tv producer retiring drama)
Saikou no Rikon (divorce dramedy)
Ruri no shima (foster child school island drama)
omiai kekkon (arranged marriage drama)
satorare (broadcasting feelings doctor)
akihamende (would be wife as housekeeper w/ unruly kids)
tiger & dragon (classic JP comedy w/ gangster odd couple)
IWGP (japanese gang comidrama)

^ The "must watch" from your list for me would be:

King's Restaurant

Muri na Renai

Saigo kara, , , (and it's sequel)

and "Omiai Kekkon".

A heads up about IWGP, Tiger & Dragon, and Kisarazu Cat's Eye. They were all written by the same guy (he also wrote Amachan, btw) and of the three the only one I really liked was Kisarazu. Once again I'm in the minority here. Most people seem to have really liked IWGP and Tiger & Dragon but I couldn't get into those two. IWGP had just way too much violence for me and I didn't think Tiger & Dragon was funny. If you do watch Tiger & Dragon, there was a Special and you should really watch that first before watching the drama.

gaijinmark wrote:

^ The "must watch" from your list for me would be: King's Restaurant Muri na Renai Saigo kara, , , (and it's sequel) and "Omiai Kekkon". A heads up about IWGP, Tiger & Dragon, and Kisarazu Cat's Eye. They were all written by the same guy (he also wrote Amachan, btw) and of the three the only one I really liked was Kisarazu. Once again I'm in the minority here. Most people seem to have really liked IWGP and Tiger & Dragon but I couldn't get into those two. IWGP had just way too much violence for me and I didn't think Tiger & Dragon was funny. If you do watch Tiger & Dragon, there was a Special and you should really watch that first before watching the drama.

Thanks for the info, Mark! I really appreciate it. We'll check out episode two of Saigo kara tonight after catching up on the latest Brooklyn 9-9.

My only concern re: Muri na Renai is that it would have a bit of a creep factor to it, is that not the case? I was just concerned about that given the subject matter.

How dated is King's Restaurant feeling?

I appreciate the info about IWGP, T&D and Kisarazu. It's the third one of those I was definitely most interested in. It's funny to think the same person wrote Amachan, I thought that seemed like such a different kind of show. I'm not into very violent content so I think I will hold off on IWGP at least for the time being.

Am I missing any of your faves in my list?

Thanks for fielding all of my questions. Arigato gozaimas~!

P.S. anyone know where I can stream the subbed Freeter special? Thanks!

maxcriden wrote:

We then took the Love Shuffle recommendation. It took some time to get into but it ended up being really great. (Yay, panda!!) The show just had a lot of fascinating characters and twists and turns, and some compelling romantic plots.

Yay panda! Glad you enjoyed Love Shuffle! Which storyline(s) and couple(s) did you enjoy watching most?

LOL, I like how you labelled Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi as "deer man drama with Love Sha star" Said Love Sha star is also in Nodame Cantabile

Of your list, other than the ones I recommended in a previous post, I think Saikou no Rikon is a decent watch but the characters require quite a bit of patience. The drama didn't quite grab me as I thought it would, and I think more could have been done re plot and characterisation. Nevertheless, it does have rather witty dialogue and is pretty slice-of-life.

I see you have a couple of Kimutaku dramas, so I'd recommend two more: Hero and Long Vacation. Hero is a legal drama (with doses of comedy) and has a winning combination in Kimutaku and Matsu Takako (who also appear in Love Generation, where Matsu's character was more annoying), and a great supporting cast. Long Vacation is a classic and one of the best rom-coms out there.

Beach Boys is also worth a go - two guys meet at a beach and embark on a journey to find their dreams.
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maxcriden wrote:

My only concern re: Muri na Renai is that it would have a bit of a creep factor to it, is that not the case? I was just concerned about that given the subject matter. How dated is King's Restaurant feeling?

'Muri na Renai' didn't feel that creepy. Yui's character is in her mid-30s and is already living with some guy so it's not like a 60 year old guy going after a 20 year old.

I didn't think 'King's Restaurant' was dated, but it's been a few years since I last watched it.

Quote:

Am I missing any of your faves in my list?

junny already mentioned 'Long Vacation'. Another Tomoko Yamaguchi drama that doesn't get nearly enough credit is 'Sweet Home'. She and her husband move into a new neighborhood and try to get their son in the "right" school. I thought it was hilarious.

There is one school drama you might want to try: "Medaka". It's about a night school with adults trying to finish their education so you don't have to deal with the usual teenagers with hormonal issues.

maxcriden wrote:

king's restaurant 1995 my little chef (abe) tiger and dragon (fashion, yakuza comedy) attention please (airline drama) (skip?) karazu Cat's Eye (crime caper comdy w/ cancer?) love generation 1997, advertisement, maybe pride - romance, ice hockey, v sweet (maybe more dramatic) good luck (airline drama w/ romance) nodame cantabile (music) Tatta no Hitotsu Koi romatncic, maybe more drama) flower shop w/o roses (touching (romantic?) drama?) Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo cute hs comedy Ando Natsu (confection drama could be good) Muri na Renai (age differnece romcom) Yamada Taro Monogatari (poverty hs drama) Love revolution (surgeon romcom) Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi (deer man drama w/ Love Sha star) artifical beauty (sad love story w/ plastic surgery) Hotaru no Hikari (interior designer romcom/drama) Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi (female tv producer retiring drama) Saikou no Rikon (divorce dramedy) Ruri no shima (foster child school island drama) omiai kekkon (arranged marriage drama) satorare (broadcasting feelings doctor) akihamende (would be wife as housekeeper w/ unruly kids) tiger & dragon (classic JP comedy w/ gangster odd couple) IWGP (japanese gang comidrama)

According to your first post, you have the same likes and dislikes in a drama as me.

My recommended must watch from your list:
1) Nodame Cantabile (simply superb and addictive)
2) Satorare (reminiscing Mel Gibson's What Women Want)
3) Hotaru no Hikari (simply hilarious and cute relationship)

My recommended drop from your list:
1) Tiger & Dragon (was difficult for me to understand dark humour)
2) Tatta no Hitotsu Koi (was draggy n sloppy for me)
3) Flower Shop w/t Roses (excellent actors esp. the kid, but it's oh so slow)

My recommended dramas not on your list:
1) Osen (beautiful lead in kimono cooking delicious traditional Japanese dishes)
2) All Kimura Takuya dramas except Tsuki no Koibito (a disgrace to his resume)
3) 1 Litre of Tears (I hate tearjerkers, but this converted me from k to jdramas)
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joykimlee wrote:

My recommended dramas not on your list: All Kimura Takuya dramas except Tsuki no Koibito (a disgrace to his resume)

And "Ando Lloyd". I don't know what the hell they were thinking when they made that one.

I will reply with more detailed thoughts and questions but I just want to thank you all for your amazing and detailed responses. (We're into Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi now and really digging it.)